When I think about easy school lunches to pack, I know the world would tell me to buy a Lunchable. Not my style. I'd rather go easy by using up leftovers, and I often wish I could just take someone's dinner plate and serve it to them for lunch. That's harder to do with packed lunches for school, but in our family, we've definitely perfected the art form of healthy leftover school lunches. Best Time to Pack a School Lunch I always tell people that when you pack is a key to success. … [Read more...]
About Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship
Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network.
See more of Katie Kimball, CSME in the Media.
Over the last 10 years, Katie has spoken prolifically at conferences, online summits and podcasts and become a trusted authority and advocate for children’s health.
Busy moms look to this certified educator for honest, in-depth natural product reviews and thorough research. She often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to deliver the most current information to the Kitchen Stewardship community.
In 2016 she created the #1 bestselling online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.
How to Keep Your Masks Clean (Including No-Wash Hacks that Take Less Than 5 Minutes!)
In a world where it's hard to get kids to change their underwear or brush their hair regularly, dealing with a new piece of clothing worn directly on the face every day is a big organizational deal for parents! I'm sure some have had no problem incorporating regular mask washing into their routines, but we are all going to have "those mornings"... You know the ones. They used to look like this: "Oh no, we forgot to pack lunches last night and homework is only half done and my … [Read more...]
Teach Your Kids: How to Take a “Mask Break” at School Without Inviting More Germs to Visit Your Face
"What's your favorite part of school so far?" It's the quintessential adult-to-kid question after a week or two of school, so when the orthotropics hygienist asked John this week, I was fully expecting certain 9-year-old boy answers. Most years he might say recess, STEM class experiments, silent reading time, or seeing his friends. Sometimes he comes up with a really fun activity that his creative teacher facilitated in the first week. This year, the infamous 2020? He … [Read more...]
The Truth About Coconut Oil: Is Coconut Oil Good For You?
How do you use coconut oil? Refined or unrefined? Substitute with coconut oil for baking and cooking? Coconut oil is used for personal care like lotion, eye makeup remover, eczema treatment, oil pulling, and more. I could go on about the usefulness of coconut oil. When I first started getting into traditional nutrition, I read about coconut oil. I was surprised how often I ran into it, and I didn't even know what it was (was it liquid or solid???), but I was curious to see if I … [Read more...]
Give Your Pizza a Plant-Based Protein Boost! {Chickpea Pizza Crust}
Chickpea pizza crust is gluten-free, vegan, easy to mix up and handle, and receives literal cheers from the dinner table when I serve it up. Don't wait to give this extra filling, high protein pizza crust a try! Pizza night is every Sunday, much to my children's delight. In fact, if we eat anything else, even everyone's favorite homemade hamburger helper recipe, they feel deprived. I've been using at least a half dozen different pizza crust recipes this year and trying new gluten-free … [Read more...]
Could Your Mask Put YOU at Risk? 8 Doctors Agree on How to Wear a Mask Correctly
Way back in early February, before people in America really knew about the novel coronavirus now called COVID-19, Influenza A and B both went through our elementary school like wildfire. The kindergarten wing was hit particularly hard, and one day when I came in to volunteer with small group centers, more than a third of my son Gabe's class was absent. I finished playing Uno with my four eerily small groups of children and went to tell Gabe goodbye. After sanitizing with the … [Read more...]
Instant Pot Applesauce {No Sugar Needed!}
Instant Pot applesauce is so quick and easy to make - you'll wonder why you ever bothered with store-bought applesauce! You can enjoy this yummy taste of fall any time of the year in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. People who visit my house in the fall tend to enter through the garage and look around themselves and wonder. "What are all the apples doing here?" they say. "What is your plan?" I grin and share that yes, every fall, we buy about 400 pounds of … [Read more...]
How to Cook Rice in the Instant Pot – Perfect Rice Every Time!
I was talking with a friend recently about how to cook rice in the Instant Pot. She had heard that cooking rice in the Instant Pot was foolproof, but the method was giving her terrible trouble, and she wasn't sure what she was doing wrong. Making the switch to cooking real foods is a big commitment and the Instant Pot can be a huge time saver - like using it to cook dry beans even if you don't have time to soak them - but it's only helpful if it's working the way it should be. Her … [Read more...]
Keto Cauliflower “Mac” & Cheese {Simple Dinner or Side Dish}
Looking for an easy keto side or main dish or maybe just a way to get more veggies onto your family's dinner plates? This keto cauliflower mac and cheese recipe fits the bill. My kids literally cheer when I serve this up, and I bet yours will too. Does it still count as mac and cheese without the macaroni? On a continent where people eat between 15.5 and 19.8 pounds of pasta per person, per year (according to the National Pasta Association), it can be mighty tough to tackle a … [Read more...]
Natural Hand Sanitizers: Best Choices and Dangers of Conventional Sanitizer
In America, the land of excess, it's been a surprising feeling to have anything in short supply, nonetheless completely out. When toilet paper was impossible to find, we discussed how to make homemade reusable toilet paper. When meat was absent from many store shelves, we talked about strategies to stretch your meat supply. I didn't worry much about hand sanitizer at the time, because we were at home with every opportunity to wash hands with soap and water, but I knew there were also … [Read more...]
How to Use Stevia as a Healthy Sugar Substitute
How do you practically use an herb that's 30-300 times sweeter than sugar to substitute for sugar in recipes? Stevia is a great option as an alternative sweetener, but sweetening with stevia isn't easy to use in all situations. I prefer the liquid version of stevia extract. I've explained the safety of stevia, including an interview with Jim May, the "father of stevia," that details the importance of knowing how your stevia is processed. Now for the "how to." Sweetening with … [Read more...]
Steamed Vegetables in the Instant Pot {Fast & Flavorful}
Steaming veggies is a great way to get important nutrients on the dinner (or lunch or breakfast) table without spending hours in the kitchen. My absolute favorite method?? Steamed vegetables in the Instant Pot! You might be thinking, "Okay, Katie, I can see using the Instant Pot for cooking a whole chicken, but steaming veggies on the stovetop is so simple - why do I need to use the Instant Pot for this?" Easy - consistent results without tying up a stovetop burner or heating the kitchen … [Read more...]
Bone Broth in the Instant Pot – 2 Ways! {Chicken, Beef, & Pork}
Making bone broth in the Instant Pot is an excellent hack for saving time and money in a real food kitchen. There are two different Instant Pot methods that work with chicken, beef, or pork bones. The result is a healthy, nutrient-dense stock that you can drink on its own or add to recipes to boost the flavor and health factor of your meals. We've often talked about the benefits of homemade stock here at Kitchen Stewardship. And whenever I am giving anyone either time-saving or … [Read more...]
How to Can Tomatoes the Easy Way – Perfect for Beginners
Learning how to can tomatoes is a great way to store the abundance you may be getting from your garden! Whether you've spent the time and effort of growing tomatoes in your backyard or you purchased them from a local farm, don't let any of them go to waste. I'm going to show you my easy, step by step instructions for how to can tomatoes; including supplies and equipment needed, how to fill the jars, how long to process them, and what to use them for later. POP! The Best Sound Ever Heard in a … [Read more...]
Why is White Sugar Bad For You?
Sugar makes life sweet... until it doesn't. From ketchup, to yogurt, to bread, white sugar hides in many foods, even ones that look healthy. White sugar tantalizes our taste buds, but is white sugar bad for you? For years the finger pointed at saturated fat as the culprit behind our steeply declining health, but recently more experts are shining a light on refined sugar's negative role. People are starting to take notice and even government agencies are catching on. The FDA finally added a … [Read more...]
Italian Inspired Keto Tortillas Recipe {2g Net Carb}
Keto cooking - or keto-fying a favorite food - isn't always the easiest or tastiest. We've made almond flour chocolate chip cookies that were better than the originals, coconut flour muffins that are moist and delicious, and Paleo banana bread that's to die for (grain-free but not keto)…AND we've also had some definite flops in our experimenting over the years. Finding a good grain-free, keto tortillas recipe has taken a bit of trial and error, but I've finally found one that delivers … [Read more...]
Why is Mineral Sunscreen Better Than Chemical Sunscreen?
When it comes to mineral sunscreen versus chemical sunscreen, the winner is clear in my book. It's not always easy to explain in a clear, concise way to everyone though. The other day I realized there's a perfect analogy with landscaping. You see, I'm always frustrated when we have to repurchase and re-spread mulch every year (or every other year if we don't mind it looking subpar for a season). Mulch is expensive, and it's a big job every time even though it looks really nice when you're … [Read more...]
Home Remedies for Warts + My Three-Step Killer Combo!
You can find home remedies for warts by the dozens with a quick internet search but, as with much of the info found on the 'net, effectiveness may vary. I love to stock my medicine cabinet with natural remedies, but not when they waste my time and money. Here are my tried and true ways to remove warts naturally plus the three-step process that has gotten me the most bang for my buck over time. I noticed hot pink duct tape covering the fingertips of a little girl recently, and it … [Read more...]
How to Use Microfiber Cloths for Cleaning
I've used microfiber cloths for cleaning even before they were cool, but I'm starting to struggle with them and can't really recommend them anymore because microfibers are made of plastic and will never biodegrade. I'm still using the ones I have but trying not to wear them out by washing less and other tricks. There are just some tasks other cloths can't do! As I learned when I explored the best cloth diapers, however, you can kill the absorbency of microfiber, so let's learn how to clean … [Read more...]
Cooking a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot {Plus Shredded Chicken!}
Even for people who are squeamish about raw chicken, cooking chicken in the Instant Pot is so simple and must become part of your routine. Over at Kids Cook Real Food, we even have a video showing kids how to make shredded barbecue chicken in the Instant Pot as part of our Instant Pot Thematic SkillLab, and they never have to touch the chicken. It's awesome. How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Instant Pot Back when I was switching to real food, I realized that organic chicken breasts … [Read more...]
